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He's back Rejuvenated Chang fights way into semifinals
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Chang isn't quite ready to pronounce himself back. His results indicate otherwise. "I never tried to go anywhere. I just had some struggles and some difficulties," he said Friday after rallying from a 3-5 deficit and facing two set points in the tiebreaker to beat fifth-seeded Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 7-6 (7) at the Mercedes-Benz Cup. Chang, who has yet to lose to Ferreira in seven career meetings and hasn't dropped a set in three matches here, advanced to Saturday's semifinals against Justin Gimelstob. Gimelstob, who upset No. 2 Mark Philippoussis in three sets Thursday night, was leading 3-0 in the first set when Paul Goldstein retired from their quarterfinal with tendinitis in his left foot. Goldstein, a former Stanford star, became the 10th player lost to injury, illness, default or upset this week. No. 8 Arnaud Clement of France defeated countryman Lionel Roux 6-3, 6-2 and will play No. 6 Jan-Michael Gambill, who beat Australian Jason Stoltenberg 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Stoltenberg double-faulted at 3-1 to give Gambill the only break of the third set. "He played an ugly point. That second serve wasn't close to making it over the net," Gambill said. "I was putting extra pressure on my returns. He knew he had to play some pretty good serves." Chang, the No. 4 seed, broke Ferreira for a 4-3 lead in the second set when the South African netted a backhand. But Ferreira evened things by breaking Chang at love in the next game and then went up 5-4 as Chang committed seven straight errors. But Chang tied the set 5-5 with a 113-mph ace before they each held again to force the tiebreaker. Ferreira led 5-3 when he committed two straight unforced errors to let Chang back in. Chang sent a backhand wide to give Ferreira his first set point, but he missed a forehand. A 102-mph ace set up Ferreira's second set point, but Chang answered with a 112-mph ace to tie it at 7. Ferreira made two straight errors to end the match and slammed a ball out of the stadium in anger. "I had a lot of chances. If I had served a little better I would've won that match," Ferreira said. "With him, it's always tough. He never gives up or lets you have anything. He gets a lot of balls back. He's solid, very consistent." Chang is much improved from a year ago when he was in tennis' equivalent of the minor leagues, playing a Challenger event with others whose rankings aren't high enough to get into the main draw of ATP Tour events. For the first time in 11 years, Chang failed to win at least one title in 1999 and finished the year ranked 50th in the world -- shocking results for the former French Open champion who has won 33 career titles and more than $18 million in prize money. "I reached a point of frustration. I definitely reached a point of brokenness," he said. "Not really understanding why things were happening the way they were." Chang, 28, changed his training and focused on bulking up his 5-foot-9, 160-pound body in the belief that it would help him overpower opponents. The result was more muscle but a lack of flexibility and footspeed, which killed his renowned ability to get to every ball. "I got a little slower," he said. Working with his brother, Carl, Chang cut back on the weights and started sprint work to regain his speed. So far this year, he's made the quarterfinals of seven tournaments and lost in the final of another. "I almost feel like I've started my career over. I definitely feel I'm moving better out there," he said. "If I'm able to get to the ball and hit what I want to hit, I'm going to be a better player. I've gone back to basics and given up on trying to overpower guys to the extent I wanted to." Chang's busy summer includes the U.S. Open and the Sydney Olympics, a place he never could have expected to be a year ago. "I feel like I've been able to pull through that stuff. I've learned a great deal about how to handle circumstances, whether they be good or bad," he said. "I'm excited about future things."
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